I walked in a store today and there was a Ronin all setup. I took a spin on it and checked the balancing features. The Ronin. Ok aside from the price and nice casing, how is it? Negatives : 1 There was a audible light hum even though the camera was well balanced. (the Movi is very very silent) 2 The space for the Camera to push back was less than I expected. 3 Heavier Positives : 1 The controls to balance are very good Why ? marks on bars to help judge adjustments and repeat settings. 2 The Pan setting is setup it such a way that only one movement is possible (forwards and backwards(the M10 pan adjust is further complicated cause this adjustment is not isolated (Swing))) My conclusion the M15 should be a better stabilizer than the Ronin, however it would be nice if it could have those marks! Is it possible to have marks on carbon?
Those marks are good for one thing, learning only. We quickly learned how to balance the movi in any condition, in less than 5 minutes, where as when we started, it could take a few hours of confusion. I still can't get over how heavy the Ronin is, at 9.4 lbs.... WOW.
I played with a Ronin yesterday and the weight alone was a deal killer for me. We had an Epic and Schneider prime (no follow focus, or wireless) and after 3-4 minutes, fatigue start to set in. When trying to add a Bartech digital receiver, Heden motor, and Paralinx wireless transmitter, we could not get it to balance correctly. The camera was too top heavy and it was already at the lowest point on the vertical tilt bar. Cant figure out for the life of me why they didn't make it an inch or two longer. Also, as Charles mentioned, there was a audible hum coming from the pan motor. Was impressed by the build quality, but it's not an ideal gimbal in my opinion.
Surely carbon can be marked. Tiny cuts made with incredibly fine blades could be skimmed with a white resin.
You can certainly mark it, but remember that you're cutting in to the carbon fibers and initiating a potential fracture point. It's not quite as bad a cutting glass (where the tiniest of fractures allows you to break it), but that's typically why people do not want to mess with the integrity of the fiber/resin matrix's integrity....or so I was told. Andy.
How about tiny weights that can be moved up and down each axis - maybe with a little worm gear, or just clamped to the carbon tubes. - I have added my own tiny weights to the M10 and am able to get my balancing 100% perfect (0% on ALL motors when at rest) -Pan adjustment in 2 separate stages so you don't mess up the one element of it while adjusting the other. -Some sort of waterproof cover for the whole rig that easily fits on and off.
Great idea on the sliding weights. Just like a steadicam, it would be nice to have that degree of precision. I just want a reliable system with internal wiring, professional plugs that are not exposed to the elements, a decent error reporting system and the ability to swap out bad components quickly in the field. Oh. And a case that is factory specified and fit for purpose. (One of the nicer things that DJI did).
I agree with bevan, esp about the worm gears. It would be stellar if we had an option similar to the GPI donkey box system: This type of gearing is also similar to various precision archery sighting equipment as well. would love to see your weighting system as well.
Hi Jason. I don't have my Movi with me right now. But I used standard small 15mm rail clamps mostly. 2 on a carbon rod mounted to the freefly lightweight rod mount. 2 underneath the camera for roll axis for the pan axis I used a freefly accessory mount with a small flat weight bolted on. This can be slid up and down and rotated. The total weights of the adjustment weights is probably no more than 150g I get the main balancing set up, and then once the movi is on I slide weights up and down until the motor read outs say: 0% When you get balance this good you can crank the stiffness up higher, and shots look smoother. Also, I can use a zoom lens. When I change the zoom all I have to do is slide weights along the tilt axis. The difference having little balancing weights make is huge, I cant believe weights were not integrated into the design. Trying to move a 12 pound camera package a fraction of a millimetre to balance the rig is not ideal. What I would like to see is a mount on the tilt axis for a freefly lipo that acts as a balancing weight. Also the main battery that powers the movi should be on an adjustable bracket so that it acts as a balancing weight for the pan axis.